At the invitation of the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), Vice Minister Cao Jianlin led a delegation to Italy from November 9th to 14th, 2011.

During his visit, Cao addressed the 1st International Forum on Space Exploration, briefing the participants on China's progress and plan in space exploration and proposing that all the countries enhance mutual trust, promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation and share research findings. Cao also had talks with Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain of European Space Agency (ESA) and Deputy Director General Paul Weissenberg of EU Enterprise and Industry, signing Agreement on Space Science and Technology Cooperation between MOST and ESA and initialing the document Consensus on Space Cooperation between China and Europe.

VM Cao exchanged ideas with President of the Tuscany Region Enrico Rossi on following up Framework Agreement on Regional Innovation between MOST and Tuscany, and attended the unveiling ceremony of China-Italy E-government Center in Polytechnic University of Turin.